Hinterlands International Rural Film Festival

16 - 19 May, Skipton

Wild Rumpus and Great Place: Lakes and Dales announce first wave of Hinterlands Film Festival events

Wild Rumpus and Great Place: Lakes and Dales are delighted to announce the first wave of films and events for the inaugural Hinterlands Film Festival, which will take place in Skipton Thursday 16 - Sunday 19 May. The international film festival will showcase films set in and celebrating rural landscapes. As well as traditional film screenings, there will also be immersive experiences and performances inspired by iconic moments in film.

I’m really excited to be able to announce some of the incredible events we’ve got coming up at Hinterlands. It’s far more than an ordinary film festival, with activities inspired by some of our favourite film moments as well as unique screenings. The events we’ve announced so far are just a taster of what’s to come.

Geoff Bird
Artistic Director of Hinterlands Film Festival

A 50th anniversary screening of Ken Loach’s cult classic Kes (Thursday 16 May), the touching story of fifteen-year-old Billy Casper and his kestrel, will open the festival at Skipton Castle. Ticketholders for Kes are invited to stay on after the film for a Festival Launch Party.

A special screening of Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom (Friday 17 May) will take place in an army marquee at Aireville Park. This unique screening will include a campfire, a bar, orienteering, live music and storytelling. Festivalgoers can have a boutique camp out in their own private army tents following the screening as part of the Moonrise Kingdom Experience (overnight Friday 17 May and Saturday 18 May).

There will be a screening of comedy-drama Hunt for The Wilderpeople (Friday 17 May) at the Plaza Cinema, followed by a free treasure huntinspired by the film around Skipton Woods on Saturday and Sunday. Supported by The Woodland Trust, the trail will give adventurers the chance to spot original artworks created by Wild Rumpus as they explore the area through new eyes.

Horror fans are invited to a Horror All Nighter at the Plaza Cinema (overnight Saturday 18 May). The 107-year-old cinema will play host to full-length horror films and shorts, including new release Hole in The Ground which premiered at Sundance Film Festival this January. The programme also includes supernatural horror The Witch, about a family who encounter supernatural forces on their New England farm, and 1920s horror classic Nosferatu. In short thriller Lambing Season, set on the North Yorkshire moors, a boy suspects he was once a victim of a child kidnapping, whilst Dog Soldiers sees a group of British military personnel face an unknown enemy in the Scottish Highlands.

Film fans and industry professionals alike can take a behind-the-scenes look into the life of a film location manager in the Location Manager Panel (Saturday 18 May). Hinterlands Film Festival’s Artistic Director Geoff Bird hosts a panel of location experts including Joseph Cairns (Academy Award and BAFTA nominated Mary Queen of Scots; Academy Award and BAFTA winning Darkest Hour; BBC’s Life on Mars), Jethro Ensor (Swallows and Amazons; BBC’s Call The Midwife; BBC’s Our Girl) and Lauren York (Managing Director at Location Library).

Hinterlands Film Festival is the first Wild Rumpus festival solely dedicated to film. As an outdoor arts organisation we felt that it was really important for the festival to focus on films which are set in and celebrate rural landscapes. We can’t wait to welcome people to the festival in May.

Rowan Hoban and Sarah Bird, Directors of Wild Rumpus

Festivalgoers can step aboard a floating cinema for a unique screening of black and white indie film Tides on the Kennet canal barge (Sunday 19 May). Originally built to carry cargo on the Leeds and Liverpool canal, Kennet is now an interactive travelling museum which takes heritage and learning to local communities.

Festivalgoers can choose to camp onsite in Aireville Park throughout the festival. Camping is £10 per person, per night on Friday night and Saturday night. There will be a Festival hub in Belle Vue Square for the duration of the festival, which will include the Box Office, an information tent, bar and food vendors.

We are really excited that the Hinterlands Film Festival programme features such a diverse range of films and events and it’s so encouraging to see so many local venues, young creatives and partners involved. Who knew there were so many rural cinema gems or how much has been filmed already in the Dales and Lakes?

Hinterlands has certainly caught people’s attention so far and we look forward to celebrating this cultural accolade in May. Our research has revealed that going to the cinema is the top cultural activity in the 16 - 34 year-old age group after listening to music and reading so we hope younger people, aspirational film-makers and creatives will find the festival inspirational and interesting.

Hinterlands is a collaboration with the Great Place: Lakes and Dales programme, which uses creativity and culture to retain and attract more young people to live and work in the area. The festival is supported by Film Hub North, proud to be part of the BFI Film Audience Network.

Erland Cooper to launch new solo album at Hinterlands Film Festival

Multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Erland Cooper will launch his second solo album Sule Skerry at Hinterlands Film Festival, a new rural film festival coming to Skipton from 16 - 19 May. Tickets are £14 and are on sale now at www.hinterlandsfestival.org.uk

Cooper will perform with a classical ensemble in the Plaza Cinema on Saturday 18 May at 7.30pm. He will play material from his new album, including new single Harr, as well as tracks from his seminal record Solan Goose. He will also perform a live improvisation in response to footage from the Yorkshire Film Archive. This is a rare opportunity to catch one of only a handful of bespoke shows with Cooper this year.

This very special event will also involve a Q&A with Cooper chaired by broadcaster and Hinterlands’ Artistic Director Geoff Bird.

Erland Cooper is a wonderful edition to the Hinterlands programme. His evocative music celebrates the beauty and power of the natural world, which is exactly what Hinterlands is all about. I’m particularly excited to see how he interprets the footage from the Yorkshire Film Archive – it’s going to be a unique experience.

Geoff Bird
Artistic Director of Hinterlands Film Festival

Having grown up in Stromness on the Orkney Islands, Cooper explores the natural world of birds, sea and landscape in an immersive evening of music, words and imagery. Originally part of The Magnetic North and Erland & The Carnival, Cooper has a diverse musical history.

His acclaimed solo album Solan Goose was an Album of the Year at BBC Radio 6 Music, the Quietus, musicOMH, Arts Desk and more. An ode to escapism, Cooper wrote the album to ease the anxieties of working in a busy city through soothing piano, strings, electronics and wild bird calls, with its tracks each taking their titles from Orcadian dialect words for birds. Sule Skerry, the second album of his Orkney triptych, takes the North Sea as its narrative focus.

It’s a record about the sea, our relationship with the outside world, forces outside of our control but it’s also about creating a nest within that, nurturing and protecting our own sea havens, those sheltered bays, those safe places. Always returning back in some form, as we step in and out daily

Erland Cooper, on his new album Sule Skerry

Erland Cooper joins a wealth of exciting programming at Hinterlands Film Festival, including a screening of Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom in an army tent complete with campfire and storytelling, and a Horror All-Nighter in the medieval Skipton Castle.

Hinterlands Film Festival is a new international film festival organised by Wild Rumpus (producers of Just So Festival and Timber Festival) in partnership with Great Place: Lakes and Dales. The festival will showcase films set in and celebrating rural landscapes. As well as traditional film screenings, there will also be immersive experiences and performances inspired by iconic moments in film.